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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — of your body
  4. plane — a tool
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. ball — a dance
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bound — obliged
  13. capital — money
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bound — certain
  16. ball — a great time
  17. chest — a box
  18. capital — a city
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. tube — a container
  22. bound — tied together
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. capital — a big letter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com